Washington, D.C.

Study: Elderly drivers more prone to wrecks

Drivers over 65 are more likely to get into crashes because of declining perception and motor skills, but the biggest risk is to themselves, not others on the highway, says a study based on nearly 4 million traffic accidents.

The study, released Wednesday by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, also found that drivers 65 or older are nearly twice as likely to die in a crash as drivers between 55 and 64. Drivers over 85 were nearly four times as likely to die.

As they grow older, some drivers are more likely to cause a crash because of a lapse in perception, such as failing to yield or running a red light.

The study, by the Texas Transportation Institute, analyzed Texas police records from 3.9 million crashes between 1975 and 1999. Those crashes caused 90,036 fatalities.

Miami

Teen indicted as adult for stabbing death

A 14-year-old student was charged as an adult Wednesday for the stabbing death of a classmate inside the bathroom of their suburban magnet school.

The indictment means Michael Hernandez faces possible life in prison without parole if convicted of first-degree murder for killing Jaime Rodrigo Gough, an eighth-grader at Southwood Middle School in Palmetto Bay.

Juveniles charged with first-degree murder in Florida are usually prosecuted as adults, but under state law they cannot be executed if under age 17.

Gough, 14, was stabbed Feb. 3 and bled to death before help arrived. Hernandez signed a confession after the knife was found in his backpack at the 1,800-student magnet school.

A classmate who knew both boys said they were talking and happy the day before the killing. Classmates and neighbors described both boys as polite and smart.